According to Wyzowl’s 2022 video marketing statistics, 88% of people say they were persuaded to buy a product or service by watching a brand’s video.
In this article, we’ll take a look at the live streaming shopping platforms that the most successful companies are using to boost their sales, generate leads and increase brand awareness.
What is live selling or live stream shopping?
The Livestream shopping was first tried out in China, where it showed record results. One of the records belongs to the Taobao marketplace, where a streamer once sold 55 cars in a second.
Live shopping is an online sales format using streaming video and e-Commerce. Typically, at these live stream shopping events, the host, who may be a celebrity or blogger, introduces the products and answers questions from the audience on the air. Users can make a one-click purchase without leaving the stream. Broadcasts are carried out on the website of an online store, marketplace or social network, they advertise a particular product, brand or store as a whole.
This interactive format is suitable for any product, service or business. The live demo proved to be highly effective, demonstrating high conversions and better contact with the audience.
The Chinese were the first to digitalize the shopping culture using streaming and e-Commerce technology to a massive extent. Europe and the United States have taken the baton by actively developing this area in their business.
What is so special about these live shopping parties? Let us figure it out.
How does live stream shopping work?
Probably, this has happened to everyone when, after adding a product to the shopping cart, you doubted the purchase, cooled down and left the online store without placing an order. The live shopping stream works in a way that completely eliminates such a scenario. This method of trading evokes in the viewer the effect of a living presence and a sense of urgency. The potential buyer seems to be thinking: “I won’t be able to go back later and complete the purchase of the item that is in the shopping cart, it will either be sold out or it will be overpriced.” That is why live video is recognized as an effective marketing tool used by 86% of businesses.
During live streams, a brand representative can explain and demonstrate the benefits of the advertised product. Sometimes a celebrity or blogger is invited to such online events, who can use their influence to increase sales.
Viewers can ask questions and respond with emoji reactions, thereby creating buzz around the brand’s products and fueling the desire to buy something. In addition, the viewer can see how many people have already pressed the buy button. As a result, live video shopping viewers find it hard to resist and walk away empty-handed. Especially when placing an order is so simple that it can be done in a couple of clicks without leaving the stream.
Popular live video shopping formats
There are many scenarios for creating a live shoppable video:
1). Direct selling. In such streams, brand representatives talk about their product, business or service, answer audience questions and offer to make a purchase at a bargain price.
2). Online Auctions. Goods can be sold in an auction format. Then there will be an element of excitement and entertainment in the streams, which will encourage viewers to fight for the thing they like and give their money.
3). Influencer Streaming. Involving a well-known person who already has a large audience in stream shopping is a great marketing technique. It’s very simple: people trust those they love or admire. Chinese marketers claim that on average, a popular influencer can sell 90,000 items worth more than $15 million in 2 hours.
For example, the audience of streamer Viya during one broadcast reached 43.15 million people. During another stream, the influencer was broadcasting with Kim Kardashian, and in a few minutes she sold 15,000 packages of perfume from an American celebrity.
4). Tutorials. According to Wyzowl’s Video Marketing Statistics 2022, 96% of people have watched an explainer video to learn more about a product or service. The video tutorial is widely used in the cosmetics industry. A great marketing ploy is to invite a celebrity makeup artist to demonstrate application techniques or discuss current makeup and skincare trends. It is also effective to involve the influencers themselves, who would share their daily skincare and makeup rituals while promoting certain products.
5). Live Events. Product launches, limited edition releases and shopping holidays are great occasions to stream in order to increase sales and attract new customers. Showing new collections online in real-time, for example, during Fashion Week, will delight viewers who do not have the possibility to attend the event physically. Through streaming services, virtual audiences will be able to purchase clothes directly from the catwalks of leading brands such as Victoria’s Secret and Louis Vuitton.
Types of Live Video Shopping Platforms
To date, there are three main types of sites where live trading can be implemented:
- Social media platforms. Social networks like Facebook, Instagram and YouTube have the necessary tools for consumer-to-consumer live-streaming. The benefit of choosing this type of platform is having a potential audience of subscribers who already know you or your brand. This ensures that you don’t stream for yourself alone.
Not without reason, brands such as KitKat, Kiehl’s, Quivr, Walmart and many others have used social media platforms to host livestream shopping events. 83% of consumers say they use Instagram to find out about new products or services. Consequently, social media users are well-disposed to buy something wonderful without having to leave their cozy home.
A company may decide to stream from its social network page, or ask a blogger with a larger audience to do it. Better yet, use Instagram’s Live Rooms feature, which allows the host to invite up to three people. Then, the subscribers of a famous Instagram blogger will be able not only to join the stream, but also to become subscribers of the advertised brand.
The downside of using social media platforms is that they don’t make it as convenient to buy a thing as on other types of platform. The purchase will most likely require ordering via private messages or going to the seller’s website.
- Online marketplace platforms and apps. Some companies prefer to stream on specialized online shopping sites such as AliExpress, Taobao and Amazon. They are convenient because viewers do not need to follow links to another online store in order to purchase the product they like. Everything is located on one platform.
Usually on the main page, under the video, there are icons of products that the stream is dedicated to. In one click, the buyer gets to the product page, where it remains to confirm the purchase. The client does not need to enter the delivery address and link a bank card each time, as this was done during registration on the platform.
- Own trading platforms or applications. Retailers looking for independence and full control over all aspects of their shopping experience prefer to develop their own streaming platform. Well-known luxury department store chain Nordstrom did just that by launching its own live-streaming channel.
This type has a number of significant advantages, among which:
- platform customization according to the needs and vision of the company;
- access to user data, and as a result, improved personalization;
- increasing brand awareness through a memorable design and logo;
- increase in web traffic to the company’s website;
- the absence of competitors’ products that can distract or even lead potential customers away;
- Increasing trust in a brand that has its own convenient and attractive software.
However, there are some disadvantages as well:
- developing a quality streaming platform costs money;
- brands need to find a way to attract customers to a brand new standalone platform.
The Most Popular Live Stream Shopping Apps
NTWRK
NTWRK was the first to make live shopping available to iPhone owners. Just imagine that, according to CEO Aaron Levant, he wrote the entire business plan for NTWRK overnight. Major investors include Drake and Live Nation. In just less than 2 years, the company was valued at $1 billion.
Now, the NTWRK app is streaming first-class brands promoted by celebrities and top influencers, massive online events and marketing shows. The live shopping app has the built-in ability to offer limited-edition clothing, collectibles, and in the sneaker world, they’ve made a name for themselves.
NTWRK cares about its reputation and the quality of the goods broadcast on its platform, so before giving access to its resources, it carefully checks all, especially little-known, retailers.
Pricing:
- No fixed cost, information is provided upon individual request.
Pros:
- Drop draws
- Hosting virtual festivals
- User-friendly interface
- The market of exclusive goods
- The market of NFT products
Cons:
- It is application-based and cannot be embedded on other platforms
- No customer activity data
Bambuser
Bambuser is a Swedish SaaS company that specializes in live-streaming solutions for businesses. Bambuser is different from most other similar off-the-shelf software products, being easily embedded on any e-com website. The site presents two main packages: one-to-many and one-on-one. The one-to-many solution is for streaming to a wide audience, while the one-on-one solution is designed to provide private customer service.
Another benefit is that the live streaming shopping app is partially customizable, allowing you to add additional features whenever you want. This way, the application can be scaled to match your business expansion. Of course, you will have to pay extra for unlocking additional functions and adjusting the application to your needs. But if the statement on their website that the average add-to-cart rate is 36% is true, the app is worth the price.
Pricing:
- Three plans are offered: Lite, Standard, and Enterprise. Their prices can be found on request.
Pros:
- HD video streaming
- Editing, uploading and repurposing video footage
- Easy integration with e-Commerce sites
- Ability to customize the platform by adding the necessary features
Cons:
- Expensive Membership
- No audience targeting
- Basic plan does not include live chat feature
Channelize
Channelize can be a great solution for those who don’t plan to stream more than five times a week and whose audience is under 50 people. This is an option for those who don’t have a big budget. Channelize is one of the few platforms that offers a free plan, albeit with a very limited feature set.
Channelize easily integrates into e-com sites and apps like Shopify. And last but not least, with the help of the SDK and UI kits, its UI can be customized in such a way that it matches with your online store theme.
Pricing:
- Free plan
- Basic: $49/mth
- Standard: $99/mth
- Custom: available upon request
Pros:
- Free Plan
- Live Chat
- Easily integrate with other e-commerce platforms.
- User interface customization
Cons:
- With the addition of extra features, it can be quite costly
Amazon Live
Amazon, the world’s leading e-commerce platform, has launched the Amazon Live Creator app to enable its users to buy products from the marketplace via real-time streaming. Since then, dozens of streams run simultaneously on the platform every day.
It is really convenient to shop on the platform without breaking away from the stream. There are icons of advertised goods below the video. By clicking on one of them, the product page will open in the next tab for a detailed review.
To access Amazon Live, you must be either a professional seller registered with the Amazon Brand Registry, a retailer using the Amazon Supplier Center, or a member of the Amazon Influencer Program.
Pricing:
- Application use is free
- Amazon charges sellers a commission
Pros:
- Application use is free
- Amazon has a lot of users, which means you can gather a large audience
- Chat
- Seamless Checkout
Cons:
- The app is designed for iPhone devices only
- Creating an online store is only available for merchants based in the United States
Instagram Live
Live streamed shopping on Instagram offers great features for US merchants, such as direct in-app sales and video archiving, so users can shop even after the event ends.
In addition, since Instagram Live shopping is powered by the Facebook Business Page platform, its features are also available to users.
Pricing:
- Application use is free
- The sales charge is 5% per shipment
Pros:
- Free to use
- Access to enhanced analytics and other features through the Facebook Business Page
- Live Rooms feature to easily collaborate with other influencers and content creators
- Ability to make in-app buys
Cons:
- For mobile devices only.
- Cannot be integrated with other websites
- Difficulties in attracting the shoppers to your website
- No 1-to-1 video option
Facebook live
Another platform merchants often use to captivate viewers with their promoted products is Facebook Live. Access to streaming shopping tools is available on the Facebook Business Page.
A stream from Facebook Live can be embedded on another site, but in this case, viewers will not be able to respond to the content or write anything in the chat. The latest update, which took place at the end of 2021, gave the platform a feature that allows you to easily collaborate with other influencers and content creators by streaming together.
Pricing:
- Application use is free
- The sales charge is 5% per shipment
Pros:
- With archive function, real-time shoppable video can be replayed after the event ends
- Stream Start Notifications
- Application use is free
- Hosting streams on other sites, but features are limited in this case
- Analytics
Cons:
- No 1-to-1 video option
- No targeting
- Non-Intuitive UI
- Viewers cannot interact with a video if it is hosted on a different website
- Facebook ads will be displayed on the screen
Live Scale
The fact that Live Scale collaborates with luxury brands and that fashion influencers such as Chiara Ferragni and Anna Della Russo participate in its online events speaks volumes. The live broadcast on Live Scale alone attracted an audience of 46,000 viewers.
One of the great advantages of the platform is that the live video can be embedded on any website and tagged with your store logo, which will increase your brand awareness.
Application features such as gamification, interactive content and in-video checkout also encourage the audience to lavish shopping.
Pricing:
- Free 7-day trial
- $99/mth
- Custom offer available on request
Pros:
- All-device compatibility
- Buy-in video
- Enhanced real-time analytics
- Branding feature
- Gamification
- Chat
Cons:
- Haven’t noticed yet
Smartzer
Smartzer is one of the best apps for a seamless shopping experience right from the live shopping videos. The app provides detailed customer interaction data, and has the ability to customize call-to-action pop-ups during a stream, referred to as “hotspots.”
Smartzer integrates seamlessly with Shopify and other e-Commerce sites.
The company claims that using their live shopping stream platform increases audience engagement rates by 55% and increases click-through rates by 25%.
Pricing:
- Determined individually depending on the selected functions
Pros:
- Seamless Checkout
- Replay feature
- Video performance data
- Embedding in e-Commerce platforms
- Hotspot adjustment
- User-friendly interface
Cons:
- No integration with WordPress and social networks
Conclusion
Back in the day, shopping from home was a novelty. Now it’s something ordinary that we do without thinking. Online shopping has opened up new opportunities that can be further enhanced with online shopping through video streaming.
Obviously, this marketing tool is highly effective. This proves both statistics and, most likely, the personal experience of everyone who has ever participated in such online events. Therefore, if your business is dealing with trade, you cannot refuse such a fascinating way to attract new customers. Contact a video streaming app development company that has a proven track record of providing solutions to the sales industry to get more advice and update your marketing strategy. They know how to keep the shopper lovers busy!
